Fireworks
by Master-Magician
Summary: Since coming to the surface, Ryn had developed a fascination with anything bright and colorful. Ben could think of few things more fitting than one of Jerry's fireworks displays. He might be letting his inner pyro out this time of year, but Ben had to admit, Jerry and his friends knew how to put on one hell of a show.


" **Gaze upon my works ye mighty and despair". The Master-Magician has returned! I've been waiting an entire year to use that line.**

 **Unlike season 1, I don't know if I'll be able to do an upload a week. Season 2 has 16 episodes so that would be 16 works. Not sure I can pull that off, but I'm going to try.**

 **Enjoy.**

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"Many people." Ryn's ease with crowds sometimes came as a surprise to Ben, but seeing as how mermaids were social animals, it wasn't that off the wall.

"That's one of Jerry's parties for you." Maddie ushered her girlfriend through the fence's gate. Ben right on her heels. "He throws them all the time, but I think the annual Fourth of July one is his favorite."

"To throw a party is to… host one, yes?"

"That's right, Ryn." Ben answered. "And look who it is."

"You guys made it!" Jerry himself materialized from the crowd, a drink in each hand. "Here I was starting to get worried."

"As if." Maddie took one of the cups while Ryn snatched the other before anyone could say anything else. "Haven't missed this one before, not starting this year."

"Cool." Jerry gave Ben an apologetic look with a shrug. "Sorry man, only two hands."

"Don't worry about it." Ben didn't miss how Ryn instantly drained her cup in practically one gulp. He may have been worried had he not known about her freakishly high tolerance for alcohol. "Say, when's the show starting?"

Jerry rubbed his hands together, not even bothering to hide his borderline maniacal glee. The man was something of a pyromaniac when it came to this particular holiday. "Boys are setting up, but hopefully not too long."

"Are you going to give a warning this time?" Maddie narrowed her eyes dangerously, likely remembering the previous year. "Or are you just going to blindside us again?"

"Hey." Jerry held his hands up in surrender. "Not my fault you were standing too close to that table. And besides, the surprise adds to the fun of it."

Maddie's glare didn't relent.

"But…" Jerry chaffed beneath the leer. "Since I like you guys, I can give you a guess." He looked to the left and right like he was about to divulge the secrets of the universe. Instead of speaking, he flashed multiple hand gestures. A bit overkill but Ben got the meaning well enough.

Twenty minutes.

While the trio did some socializing with the other guests, they mostly stuck together. Ryn hadn't gotten the hang of talking to people without sounding too out of place. Neither Maddie nor Ben minded, since they knew the truth of what she was, but they were concerned about unwanted attention to their girlfriend.

Thus far the 'friend from another county just learning English who's been sheltered her whole life' cover story was holding remarkably well. Eventually they'd scrap it or people would stop questioning why Ryn acted so weirdly, but that day was not today.

"No water?" Ryn had explored most of the grounds, small though they were, of Jerry's place before making her observation.

"That was a pool party you went to." Ben had finally procured a drink for himself, nonalcoholic since it was his turn to be the designated driver. Not to mention, Ryn hadn't mastered how to drive quite yet. "And that was a hotel pool they were using, this place is where Jerry lives."

"Twenty minutes is up." Maddie had been keeping a close eye on her watch since speaking with Jerry. "Show should be starting any moment now, watch the sky."

"Yes." Ryn excitedly looked to the starry night sky, eager to see this 'fireworks show' Ben and Maddie had told her about.

Since coming to the surface, Ryn had developed a fascination with anything bright and colorful. Ben could think of few things more fitting than one of Jerry's fireworks displays. He might be letting his inner pyro out this time of year, but Ben had to admit, Jerry and his friends knew how to put on one hell of a show.

One short description of what fireworks were later, and Ryn was practically bouncing up and down to see it. Ever eager to show off more human culture, and make their mermaid girlfriend happy at the same time, Ben and Maddie thought it was a wonderful idea.

It certainly was, right up until the moment the show actually started.

That was when Ryn fell to the ground screaming bloody murder, hands clutching her head.

"Ryn!" Ben and Maddie both instantly dropped to Ryn's sides. Neither could tell what was wrong with her, but Ben had a theory when he saw the mermaid trying in vain to cover her ears.

Ben didn't know if he was right, but either way they needed to get Ryn somewhere safe. The only place he could think of was Jerry's backdoor.

"Mads!" Ben scooped the mermaid up off the ground into his arms, his request to Maddie unspoken but obvious.

Maddie cleared the way in front of them, all but knocking people aside in haste borne of worry. While she led the way, Ben carried the mermaid through the dispersed crowd.

Once they were within the relative safety of Jerry's living room, Ben deposited Ryn onto the couch with as much care as her formidable weight would allow.

Maddie had made sure to slam the door closed once they had passed through the portal. With the door sealed, the noise from outside was considerably muffled.

"Ryn?" Maddie sat beside Ryn on the couch, arm slung around the mermaid's shoulders while said mermaid was shaking like a leaf. "It's okay, we're here. You're okay."

Ben himself kneeled in front of Ryn, her hand in his over top of her knee. Her hand gripped his so tightly as to be painful, but he pretended not to notice.

"I am… okay." Ryn choked out, her spare hand holding her forehead. "Head… much pain."

"What happened out there, Ryn?" Maddie had taken to stroking Ryn's hair, an act that always seemed to calm her down when troubled.

"Noise." That one word was enough to confirm Ben's suspicions. "Loud… too loud."

"I'm so sorry, Ryn." Ben apologized. "I should have thought of it, it didn't think of it."

"We should have thought of it." Maddie corrected, no doubt feeling every bit as guilty as Ben felt.

They all knew Ryn had an extraordinary powerful sense of hearing. It came with being a mermaid, but Ben and Maddie had horribly underestimated just how powerful it was. Ben was shocked Ryn was able to still hear them and talk with how bad of a hit her ears had to have taken.

"I will… be okay." Ryn, bless her heart, did her best to sound reassuring. She probably didn't realize how pained her voice still sounded. "Need… moment."

When the fireworks sound suddenly grew louder, and Ryn winced and whimpered, Ben knew somebody had opened the door. He spun around to yell for them to close it when saw who it was.

"Hey, guys." Jerry, thankfully, had closed the door behind him when he came in. "They said you guys came running in here like a stampede. Everything cool?"

"It's Ryn. She has… sensitive ears." While Maddie wasn't lying, Jerry didn't need to know the whole story. They'd considered letting him in on Ryn's secret eventually, but now would be a poor time.

"We uh… thought she'd be alright." Ben chimed in. "I hate to say it, but I think we might need to call it an early night and take her home."

"Yeah, I totally get it." Jerry nodded in understanding. "Give me a minute and I'll have the guys take a break."

"Sorry, Ryn." While Jerry turned to leave, Maddie held the mermaid close. "I know you were hoping to see fireworks for the first time. We'll have to figure out something else for next time."

"Hold the phone." Jerry twirled around so fast, Ben was amazed he didn't fall right over. "Ryn's never seen fireworks? As in, never ever?"

"Never ever." Ryn herself clarified.

Jerry was quiet for an uncomfortably long minute. As if he was trying to process this new nigh impossible revelation he was given. Ben was about ten seconds from asking if he was okay too when he found his voice.

"That is… that's… that's…" Jerry stammered in a rather pathetic attempt to find his voice. "No, that is not cool. I won't stand for it."

Jerry turned away while muttering to himself while Ryn gave a confused look to an equally bewildered Ben. All he could do was shrug at his girlfriend's gaze.

"Ah ha!" Jerry snapped his fingers so suddenly the entire trio was startled. "You guys are in luck, I think I got just the thing!" Maddie tried to ask him what he was talking about but he had already sprinted into another room.

"I don't remember Jer being this…" Ben began.

"Crazy?" Maddie finished.

"Odd?" Ryn added her two cents.

"Sure, let's go with that."

"What do you expect? Fourth of July does something to him."

"Behold!" Jerry returned shortly after brandishing something over his head like it was a sacred relic. "I arrive bearing gifts!"

Jerry handed the object to Ryn, whom of course hadn't a clue what it was or how it worked. Maddie took it off her hands before she could accidentally break it.

"Jerry, you're a genius." Maddie handed the item over Ryn to Ben.

"I have my moments." Jerry lightly hit Ben on the shoulder. "I better be getting back outside. You guys come out when you can."

"Thank you, Jerry." Ryn didn't know if Jerry's 'gifts' was actually going to be helpful, but she was guessing based on Ben and Maddie's reactions as she often did.

"No problem. Nobody should miss out on fireworks." Jerry flashed Ryn a smile as he turned to leave again. He made it three steps before he stopped and spun around on his heel again. "Hey, wait a min…"

Jerry didn't say anything, but Ben could tell he was giving the three of them a thorough look. Like he was just now noticing details he hadn't seen before.

"What's going on here?" Jerry waved a hand as if to indicate the Ben, Maddie, and Ryn. "What's… this?"

Ben took a moment to evaluate their position. Maddie was still sitting next to Ryn with her arm around the mermaid, the embrace way too protective, too intimate, to just be a close friend.

On the other side was Ben. He was down on one knee holding Ryn's hand in his own. The interlaced fingers resting over top of her leg. The situation was further exacerbated by Ryn's second hand having abandoned its place on her head to lay on the back of Ben's neck. While not an odd sight, what made it so was the fact that Ryn was dragging her fingertips over any skin she could reach.

Ben reckoned it all painted a weird picture Jerry was trying to make sense of.

"Ryn is our girlfriend." Maddie put it bluntly. "Our."

"Really, now?"

"Yes." It was Ben who answered this time.

Jerry was, again, silent for a long minute before he gave the trio a thumbs up. "Awesome. Let your freak flag fly I saw, but I have to be honest, I didn't know you swung that way, Maddie."

"Neither did I." Maddie turned to give Ryn a fond look. The mermaid answered with an affectionate nuzzle of Maddie's jaw.

"I just have one question." Jerry held a finger up.

"What?"

"That day, back at the center, were you guys really shooting a po…"

"No!" Ben and Maddie both replied aghast.

"Okay, okay." Jerry's hands flew up in surrender but he was laughing like a madman, choosing that instant to make his exit. "Just curious."

Ben rolled his eyes, hoping Ryn wasn't going to ask about that last comment, and returned to the business at hand.

"Ryn, these are called noise canceling headphones. They go on your head like this." Ben explained while putting the headphones on himself so that Ryn could see how it was done. "You can control how much sound you hear using this little dial."

When Ben was finished, Ryn tilted her head forward so Ben could place them on her head.

Once they were in place, Ben turned the dial. It took a couple of attempts since they wanted her to hear, but not get her eardrums blown out of her skull.

"Okay, Ryn, can you still hear me?" Ben made one last adjustment.

"Little." Ryn felt around the plastic covering her ears. "Strange."

"I can imagine." Ben stood up and helped Ryn to her feet. While Ben led the way to the door, the mermaid reached behind her to grasp Maddie's hand with her second. "We haven't missed too much, just the opening. Jerry always saves the best for last."

"Finale. Yes?" Ben was happy to see Ryn shift back to being happy and excited.

"The finale is always the best part, but it's at the very end." It was Maddie who reached for the door handle, but hesitated. "Ryn, if you need to come back inside again, just tell us, okay?"

"I will." Ryn responded before adding, "I promise."

Ben watched Ryn like a hawk when Maddie reopened the door. The mermaid visibly jumped when the sound of the fireworks came back full force but it lasted nothing more than a second. She had obviously been expecting much worse. The headphones were doing a fantastic job.

Ben figured it out immediately that there was no more talking to Ryn now that they were back outside. Oh no, it wasn't that she couldn't hear him. It was the fireworks.

Ryn was entirely transfixed as the black canvas of the night sky was splattered with explosions of purples, green, gold, and all sorts of colors in various shapes or just plain bursts of light. None of it was all that special looking to Ben, but this wasn't the case for Ryn.

Ryn's eyes were open wide in pure awe as she took in the display. Not for the first time, Ben tried to place himself in the mermaid's shoes. Fireworks were something he never thought too much of, but here was Ryn looking like she'd just seen one of the most beautiful sights the surface world had to offer.

Ben wasn't the only one to notice this either. On Ryn's other side, Maddie shot Ben a knowing look. Ryn might be learning more about the surface world with each passing day, but Ben and Maddie were better learning to appreciate what they'd taken for granted their whole lives.

Maddie and Ben each moved closer to their mermaid, both placing a hand at the other's lower back. Ryn, much to her lovers' surprise, was not a distracted by the show as they thought. Both her arms came up to encircle Ben and Maddie's respective waists.

Pushing all other thoughts from his mind, Ben finally relaxed, and allowed himself to just focus on the nice evening out with his mermaid and girlfriend.

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 **Not my best work, I know. But I haven't written anything in an entire year and I wanted at least a tiny something to let the Siren fandom know that I'm back and writing for it again.**

 **I do have a couple more ideas, but as always, I am very much open to suggestions.**


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